Oh, those demonic 80's videos...

by CaptainSchmideo 4 Replies latest jw friends

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  CaptainSchmideo

  Back in the glorious MTV 80's decade, I was just hitting my twenties. A District Overseer gave a talk at a Circuit Assembly about, of course, "music that debases." He specifically zeroed in on this particular video:
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9AbeALNVkk

  He really went on about what a particularly violent and disrespectful video this was. And he brought up about how a "youth" at another convention tried to explain how the video was really supposed to be comic. "Really? Would it be funny or comic if you and your father were having a confrontation in your house, and someone came in to the house and threw him through the window?" (Have these guys ever watched Laurel and Hardy or The Three Stooges? On second thought, probably not...)
  
  Even though the character of the father is played ultimately as a big fool (he is played by Mark Metcalf, doing an updated version of "Greg Neidermeyer", the sadistic ROTC cadet officer and Omega House bully from the movie "Animal House"), there are some chilling echoes of some JW parents I have had the misfortune of knowing (not MY Dad. He tried to limit our viewing and reading material, but his hear really wasn't in it).
  
  I was surprised that this video in particular was singled out so specifically back then. Some of the songs that were referred to in his talk were actually quite old, such as Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride", which I am CERTAIN were being hummed by your average 15 year old in 1985.
  
  Dee Snider, the lead singer in the group "Twisted Sister", later went on to testify against music censorship in a US Senate hearing (along with Frank Zappa (not surprising) and John Denver (VERY surprising) ). (The Parents Music Rescurce Center (or PMRC) was spearheaded by Al Gore's wife, Tipper. I never could bring myself to like the Gores after this little adventure of theirs. Not enough to prefer GWB for President, but, still...)
  
  Does anyone else remember SPECIFIC videos being referred to in talks or at assemblies?
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  tenyearsafter

  I love this video...I always thought of it as satire. Mark Metcalf is phenomenol!! I remember the huge brouhaha over the Thriller video...it was at the peak of Michael Jackson's JW era, and people were going crazy over the demonistic images in the video...sheesh!
• 

  LisaRose

  Not a video, but back in the nineties, there was a talk on music and the brother went on and on about how evil the song "Mack The knife" was. For those not familiar, it's a jazz standard from the sixties about a hired killer, that is written in a satirical style. I couldn't believe it, my kids had never heard of it. Of all the music in the nineties that might have potentially been a bad influence, he picked that. I guess the only good thing was no parent had to go home and throw out their kid's treasured copy of "Mack The knife, lest they be tempted to become hired killers.
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  WTWizard

  In case anyone else noticed, the 1980s was when heavy metal became the dominant style. Starting around 1983 when Quiet Riot came along, and Van Halen dominated with Jump early in 1984. Hard rock and heavy metal became common during 1984, and of course the washtowel was against anything people were finding enjoyable. Twisted Sister was one of the groups they found most objectionable, since this song implies that we are not going to sit there and take abuse but we are ready to fight back. And that's what is against Christi-SCAM-ity in the first place.

  They were all up in arms against Prince, Madonna, Ratt, Culture Club, Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, ZZ Top, and so many other mainstream rock or funk songs. Part of it was their sexophobic attitudes. If it's sex, it needs to be stifled. And, if it has anything to do with being free, they are obviously not going to tolerate witlesses listening to it or watching the videos.
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  CaptainSchmideo

  LisaRose-I remember that as late as the late 90's, the tired old outlines still listed the evil influence of Disco music as a danger (watching the Sunday speaker stumble over this hilarious anachronism was always fun to watch....)